


bookstore.

by pyroallerdyce



Series: (not at all spooky) skywalkers series [october writing challenge 2020] [23]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bookstores, F/M, First Meetings, Forgiveness, Friendship, One Shot Collection, Pre-Relationship, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, Rain, Relationship(s), Short One Shot, Tumblr Prompt, Wordcount: 5.000-15.000, october writing challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:01:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27161524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyroallerdyce/pseuds/pyroallerdyce
Summary: He was slowed by a sudden rush of pedestrian traffic and the clock was ticking over to eight o’clock when he spotted the bookstore.  Figuring it was worth a chance, he tried the door and found it still unlocked, so he headed inside and started looking around at the signs that marked out the different sections until he found the one he was looking for.And that’s when Rey saw him.or: Five times Ben talked to Rey in a bookstore plus the one time he apologized for being a complete idiot.(these will really make little sense unless you read the whole series.)
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: (not at all spooky) skywalkers series [october writing challenge 2020] [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947904
Comments: 4
Kudos: 34
Collections: October Writing Challenge - 2020





	bookstore.

**Author's Note:**

> attempt to break my writer's block day 23. FINALLY SOMETHING OF DECENT LENGTH. I don't think my writer's block has been broken, per se, but this is a nice start.
> 
> we've made it to ben/rey in this three-generational series. yay! these two I at least have a handle on writing and probably won't cringe reading these stories back. this ended up a 5+1 thing, which format I haven't written in probably a decade. I have no idea what this really is or if it's any good, but I hope so!
> 
> and as always, if you like what you read and you want to see more, please let me know via a comment or kudos or bookmark so that I know that I'm not writing into a void. enjoy!
> 
> october 23: "Didn't you read the sign?"

**2017**

.1

Ben had been walking back to his apartment after a long day when he’d gotten the phone call from his mother. Leia had been coveting the part of Mrs. Teavee in the new production of _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ that had been announced, and she was thrilled to tell him that she’d gotten the role. Ben was happy for her, just like how he was always happy when one of his parents booked another role on Broadway, and he knew exactly what he needed to do now.

He searched his phone for the nearest open bookstore, found one a couple of blocks ahead that was called Resistance Books, and headed in its direction. The website said that they closed at eight p.m., and it was nearly that, but Ben was sure that he’d be able to make it to the store, find what he was looking for, and pay for it all before eight o’clock hit.

He was slowed by a sudden rush of pedestrian traffic and the clock was ticking over to eight o’clock when he spotted the bookstore. Figuring it was worth a chance, he tried the door and found it still unlocked, so he headed inside and started looking around at the signs that marked out the different sections until he found the one he was looking for.

And that’s when Rey saw him.

The store had been dead all day but despite Finn’s suggestion to close it early, she’d kept it open until eight p.m. just like always because there was the off chance that someone would come in. And the store really needed someone to come in. It wasn’t that they were teetering on the edge of having to close it because they weren’t, but Rey really needed to eat more than cereal and if the store kept making as little as it was currently, then cereal might start to become too expensive to eat. 

But she’d literally just put up the closed sign not more than two minutes ago and there hadn’t been anyone in the store when she had. So, how was there now a man in the store? She was confused.

She followed him over to the Children’s section and watched him start to peruse the shelves, and when he turned and saw her standing there, she just shook her head. “Didn’t you read the sign?”

“Sign?” Ben asked, deciding in an instant that she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. He did not get to be in the presence of women that gorgeous. That was usually Poe’s thing.

“The closed sign in the window,” Rey said, pointing towards it. “We closed precisely at eight, so how did you get in here?”

Ben glanced at the sign that quite clearly said closed before shaking his head. “My apologies. I did not see the sign. And if you’re going to close the store, you should lock the door. The door was unlocked so I came in to buy a book. Do you want me to leave? Because I can find somewhere else to buy the book.”

“No, you can stay to buy the book,” Rey said seriously, trying not to think about the fact that the man was really hot. Dating was the last thing she needed right now, no matter how much Finn and Rose were determined to find her a boyfriend already. “I just think that you need to learn to stop and read signs.”

Ben laughed. “Maybe I do. My mother is always telling me that I’m rushing through life too quickly. I need to stop and enjoy it.”

“That seems like sound advice,” Rey said, watching as he turned back to the books. “What book are you looking for?”

“ _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ ,” Ben said, letting his eyes dance over the shelf in front of him. “Aha!”

He pulled the book from the shelf and turned back to her. “I’ll buy this quickly and then I promise I will leave you alone.”

“You’re fine, sir,” Rey said, heading in the direction of the register. “Let me ring that up for you.”

“Ben,” he said, shaking his head as he followed her. “People calling me sir makes me feel like I’m my grandfather, and I really don’t want to feel like that.”

“Ben then,” Rey said, stepping behind the register and taking the book from him. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Rey.”

Ben decided the name fit her perfectly. “It’s nice to meet you as well, Rey. Is this store new or have I just been blind to it the entire time I’ve lived in this neighborhood?”

Rey sighed. “Blind to it. And unfortunately so are too many other people. We really need more business.”

Ben made another decision, this time that he’d come back to the bookstore any time he needed a book from now on. “Well, I will have to make a point of coming back then.”

Ben paid for the book and Rey placed it into a bag, holding it out for him to take. “I hope you enjoy the book, Ben.”

“It’s not for me,” Ben explained as he took the bag. “It’s for my mother. And she’s going to love it.”

Rey smiled at him. “Then I hope she does.”

Ben stood there for a moment before turning towards the door. “Sorry for keeping you, Rey! I’ll be back in soon!”

Rey watched him walk out the door and couldn’t help but think that she knew he’d never come back.

Ben started down the street, unable to stop himself from thinking that he needed to find a reason to go back to the bookstore soon. 

.2

Ben finished up his last case of the day only to find an email from his father in his inbox, titled simply _Got it_. Ben opened it, read through the brief sentence where Han said he wanted Ben to see the press release, and grinned when he saw the confirmation that Han had been cast as Old Prince Bolkonsky in the new Broadway production of _Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812_. The fact that he was going to be in the play that he had desperately wanted a part in made Ben smile.

It also gave him a reason to go back to Resistance Books.

He glanced at the clock and then left the office as quickly as he could, knowing that getting there by eight p.m. was going to be a struggle again. He found that the pedestrian traffic seemed to grow with every passing second, and it frustrated him beyond belief. Since when were there so many people in this part of the neighborhood at that time of night? Had some new hot nightlife spot opened without him knowing it or something? 

He glanced at his watch as the store came into view, sighing heavily and running when he saw it was seven fifty-nine. He arrived just as Rey was turning the sign to say the store was closed, and Ben knocked on the door to get her attention. He waved when she looked over at him, smiling. “I know you’re closed but can I please come in to buy a book? It’s just the one, I know exactly what I want, and it’ll take no more than five minutes. Please?”

Rey stared at him through the window for a moment, shook her head, and then went and opened the door. “You know, we are open the entire day. Eight a.m. to eight p.m. every day of the week. There is absolutely no need for you to show up just as we’re closing.”

“I know, and I promise next time I will show up during actual business hours,” Ben said as he walked into the store. “Classics section?”

“Next to Fantasy,” Rey said, and Ben headed in that direction. “You want to read a classic now?”

“ _War and Peace_ ,” Ben called back. “And it’s not for me!”

Rey shook her head and followed Ben. “Who is this one for then?”

“My father,” Ben said, stopping in front of a shelf and beginning to look through it. “It’s important.”

“Buying your father a copy of _War and Peace_ is so important that it needs to happen at eight p.m. on a Friday night?”

“Yes. He needs to start studying it.”

“Studying it?”

Ben found copies of _War and Peace_ and plucked one off the shelf, turning back to Rey. “Yes. It’s important for his job.”

Rey walked over to the register. “English professor?”

“Actor,” Ben responded. “He just was cast as Old Prince Bolkonsky in the Broadway production of _Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812_, which is based on a section of _War and Peace_. Whenever one of my parents gets a role, I always buy them the corresponding book if there is one. Hence, _War and Peace_ today and _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ last week.”

Rey took the book from him and started to ring it up. “So your parents are actors? That’s really cool. I imagine that can be a bit of a struggle of a life though.”

“Oh, I’m sure it was at first, but after you win a Tony Award, my mother says it’s much easier to get auditions.”

Rey looked up at that. “Your mother has won a Tony?”

Ben nodded. “My father too.”

She tilted her head to the side. “Who are your parents?”

“Han Solo and Leia Skywalker,” Ben said proudly. “Heard of them?”

“Of course I’ve heard of them!” Rey exclaimed. “They’re two of the most revered Broadway stars there are! Your mother was my favorite part of the one time I got to see something on Broadway!”

Ben grinned. “Which one did you see?”

“ _Waitress_ ,” Rey said. “Leia was amazing in it.”

Ben nodded. “Yes, I was particularly proud of her for that one. I mean, I’m proud of them for all of it, but that one was great. It had been a long time since she’d done a musical. She was very concerned about her ability to sing.”

“She’s an incredible singer, so she shouldn’t have worried.” Rey finished ringing up the book and put it into a bag. “Any other family members who are actors?”

“No, just them,” Ben said, accepting the bag from her.

“So no books to buy for a while then.”

“I don’t know about that,” Ben said, smiling at her. “I’m always looking for something new to read.”

Rey went to say something but Ben’s phone began to ring, so he gave her an apologetic look. “I am so sorry for keeping you beyond eight p.m. once more. I promise it won’t happen again.”

“It’s alright, Ben,” Rey said, smiling. “I’ll see you next time you come in.”

Ben said goodnight and walked out of the store, answering his phone to find his father on the other end. They talked about Han’s excitement over playing Old Prince Bolkonsky on Ben’s walk back to his apartment, and when the phone call was over, Ben went over to his bookshelf and looked through it. He’d need to come up with a new book to go buy for himself soon. Patronizing Resistance Books was something that suddenly meant a lot to him. 

It had nothing to do with wanting to see Rey again. Absolutely not.

Except it had everything to do with it and Ben knew it.

.3

Despite it being a Saturday, Ben got up early. He took a shower, looked through his refrigerator, decided that he didn’t have anything he wanted to cook for breakfast, and then he reached for his phone. A quick text conversation with Poe later and Ben was out the door, headed to the little café that Poe’s wife Zorii owned to meet his best friend and business partner and talk about life over pancakes.

It really was an occurrence that they just needed to make a scheduled weekly thing, because it happened practically every Saturday morning anyway. 

On his way to the café, Ben spotted Resistance Books up ahead and he checked his watch. Eight-thirty. Perfect. He had plenty of time to go into the store, see Rey, and still make it to the café before Poe would be there because Poe was always late.

Wait, he meant he had time to go into the store, buy a book, and still make it to the café before Poe. Not see Rey. Seeing Rey was not a factor in this. It was just a delightful side benefit.

Ben really needed to stop lying to himself, but he wasn’t going to start on that particular morning.

He entered the store and looked around, hearing a man talking to a woman, but the woman wasn’t Rey. The woman appeared after a moment, smiling at him. “Welcome to Resistance. Can I help you find something?”

Ben stopped himself before he asked where Rey was and shook his head. “No, I’m just going to browse until something catches my eye.”

“Well, if you need any recommendations, just let me know. I’m Rose.”

“Thank you, Rose. I will do so.”

Ben headed to the first shelf that he saw as Rose walked away, and he browsed while he listened to the man start complaining to Rose about the fact that Rey wasn’t there yet. As Rose assured him that Rey was on her way, Ben tried desperately not to think about how he hoped she got there soon so he could see her and still make it to the café before Poe. Poe could not find out that Ben was getting like this over a woman and if he got to the café after Poe did, then Poe would figure it out in about three point eight seconds.

So really, he should just leave now and come back and see Rey another time. Perhaps on the way home from the café. 

Not that he was there to see Rey. He was there to buy a book.

Yeah, he really needed to stop lying to himself.

Ben checked his watch to see how much time he thought he could spend there before he absolutely had to leave. He could wait for ten, maybe fifteen, minutes before he would have to go, he thought. He was about to turn his attention back to the shelf in front of him when the door opened and the man immediately called out. “Rey, it is about time!”

“Shut up, Finn!” Rey called back. “It’s not my fault the train was late!”

“The train is always late, Rey!”

“Well, that’s not my fault either!”

“Finn, leave her alone. So long as one of us is here to open the store, that’s all that matters,” came Rose’s voice.

“We all live in the same building!” Finn exclaimed. “If we can be here before the store opens, I don’t understand how she can’t be!”

Ben decided that the three of them must be good friends, not just co-workers, when both Rey and Rose called out at the same time. “Shut up, Finn!”

Ben turned his attention to the bookshelves as the three of them continued to talk, eventually finding a copy of _The Great Gatzby_ and deciding to purchase it. He headed for the register just as Rey stepped behind it, and she gave him a wide smile. “Ben, I didn’t know you were in here.”

“Just looking around this morning and then I found this,” Ben replied, setting the book on the counter. “Haven’t read it since high school so it’s time for a refresher.”

“So this is the third classic book you’ve bought,” Rey pointed out. “I know the first two were because of your parents’ new roles, but this leads me to believe that you prefer classic books to modern ones.”

“I read a lot of modern books,” Ben said. “But classics are classics for a reason. Can read them over and over and never be bored.”

“So what’s a modern book that you read over and over then?” Rey asked as she began to ring them up.

Ben took a deep breath and decided to be honest. “ _Harry Potter_. All seven of them. I refuse to believe _The Cursed Child_ is canon, no matter how much I'm looking forward to seeing the actual production of the play.”

Rey laughed. “I wouldn’t have pictured you as a Potterhead.”

“Most people don’t, but I’m more of a nerd than I care to admit,” Ben said, smiling at her. 

“How much of a nerd?”

Ben reached for his shirt sleeve and shoved it up, showing off his Elvish tattoo. “Let’s just say that I have the cast commentaries on the _Lord of the Rings_ blu-rays memorized, okay?”

Rey grinned at him. “What does the tattoo say?”

“Victory through harmony,” Ben replied. “It’s the Elvish version of the English translation of the Latin motto of my favorite soccer team.”

“The what?” Rey asked, confused.

Ben went to say it again when his phone rang, and he glanced at it to see that it was Poe. “Excuse me,” he murmured before answering it. “Poe.”

“I’m going to be a little late,” came Poe’s voice. “The train’s delayed.”

“You? Late? Shocking.”

“Fuck off, Ben. At least I called this time.”

“Good point. I’m headed there now. I’ll just get a drink and wait.”

“I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

“I know.”

Ben hung up the phone and shook his head. “Trains are late everywhere today, apparently. Not that it makes any difference. Poe was guaranteed to be at least twenty minutes late anyway. He is never on time unless it’s for work.”

“I see,” Rey said, putting the book in a bag. “So what is the tattoo again? I got something about a soccer team but that’s about it.”

“My favorite soccer team is this team from London called Arsenal.”

“I have heard of Arsenal, yes,” Rey said. “They’re one of the biggest clubs in England.”

“I thought that maybe you might have given the accent,” Ben said, thinking about how that was the dumbest way in the world that he could have acknowledged that she was clearly British. He continued before he could dwell on it much. “Anyway, Arsenal is my favorite team in the world, and their club motto is Victoria Concordia Crescit, which is Latin for victory through harmony. I always wanted to get that tattooed on me, but I wasn’t sure about the Latin, and doing it in English just didn’t seem right, so in the end, I had it translated and got the tattoo in Elvish.”

Rey reached out and snagged Ben by the wrist, running her fingers over the script inked into his skin. “That’s actually really cool.”

“Thank you,” Ben said, trying to ignore how warm her fingers were and failing. 

“Tattoos are sexy at any rate, but ones that really mean something are sexier,” Rey said, letting go of his arm when she suddenly realized what she was doing. There was absolutely nothing appropriate about caressing the tattoo of a customer just because he was definitely the most gorgeous man she’d ever had the pleasure of speaking to. 

Ben rolled his sleeve back down and reached for the bag when Rey held it out to him. “Well, I’m glad to know that someone thinks there’s something sexy about me. Can’t say that many think that.”

Rey stopped herself from saying that everyone else must be blind and was grateful for the interruption when Finn yelled her name. “I have to go deal with that. You have a nice time with your friend. I’ll see you when you come back in.”

“I’ll be back soon,” Ben said, smiling as he turned and walked out of the bookstore. 

He wanted to turn around and go right back in there, spend the entire day talking to Rey, and then maybe see if she’d be interested in dinner. Instead, he took a deep breath and headed in the direction of the café, thinking of all the ways he was going to avoid having to talk about the fact that Poe seemed to think he needed to get married already because Ben was afraid that Rey would come up should that conversation occur. Ben really didn’t want that to happen because it wasn’t appropriate to have a conversation about Rey like that when he had only really spoken to her on a few different occasions. The thought of marriage with Rey was something that shouldn’t be crossing his mind.

Though based upon their interactions, Rey would make a better wife than any of his previous girlfriends would have.

Fuck, he had a problem.

.4

Rey heard the door open while she was busy with another customer, but she didn’t see who came in. She helped the woman she was already with find a bunch of children’s books that she was after, and once she was done ringing up the purchases and the woman had left, she set out to find whoever had come into the store. It took her a moment to spot them, and when she got closer, she noticed it was Ben and it brought a smile to her face. Ben had been in the store every week for the past few months, and getting to know him and his reading habits had been a highlight of her weeks.

Then she noticed that he was browsing the romance novels and became incredibly amused. “Romance novels?”

Ben jumped and spun around, laughing. “I didn’t know you were behind me.”

“And I didn’t know you read romance novels,” Rey said. “You’ve been holding out on me.”

“I don’t,” Ben said, shaking his head. “My grandmother is the one that reads this trash, not me.”

“Don’t call published work trash no matter what genre it is,” Rey admonished. “That is someone’s hard work, sometimes someone’s life’s work, and there was a literary agent and a publishing company out there that considered it good enough to be published. Just because it is not something that you would read does not mean that it is trash.”

Ben blinked a few times. “You’re right,” he eventually said. “I should not refer to things I don’t like as trash. I just have had parts of these books read aloud to me before and I cannot stand them.”

Rey chuckled and walked over to him. “So she reads you the books?”

“She’s always got some sort of passage from one of them that she thinks will magically help me find a girlfriend,” Ben said without thinking, turning back to the shelf before he could say anything else as stupid as that. “Anyway, I am looking for the newest Danielle Steel novel, whatever it’s called. I just know that one came out this week. I get alerts on my phone.”

Rey smiled and went over to a different shelf, pulling a book from it. “You get alerts on your phone about Danielle Steel novels.”

“My grandmother is eighty-nine,” Ben explained. “Her mind is sharp as ever, but her body is growing increasingly frail, and so I offered to do things like go to bookstores and get her books and she took me up on it. I have alerts set for different authors so that I know when a new book comes out so that I can purchase it and then take it to her. She probably doesn’t even know this one came out. She stopped paying attention to that a while back, and so this book will be like a little surprise for her this weekend.”

Rey handed the book over to Ben. “I think that’s really sweet. I wish I had a grandmother I could do that for.”

“Have you lost both already?” Ben asked before immediately shaking his head. “Fuck, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” 

“It’s okay, Ben, I don’t mind,” Rey said. “They were gone before I was born and I don’t know much of anything about them because my parents died when I was ten and so I never got to ask.”

Ben suddenly felt horrible about having brought it up at all. “I am so sorry, Rey. I had no idea.”

“Exactly, you had no idea, and that’s why it’s not a problem,” Rey said, nodding towards the book. “Is that all today or is there more?”

“This is it,” Ben said, and so Rey started walking towards the register. 

“Then let’s get that rung up.”

Ben followed her and set the book on the counter, reaching for his wallet. “How has business been?”

“Better,” Rey said with a smile. “Word of mouth seems to be spreading all of the sudden, which is great. More business is always good business.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Ben said as Rey rang up the book. “I keep recommending here to people.”

“Well, thank you,” Rey said as she put the book in a bag. “We really appreciate that. I knew when we opened the store that it might take a while to establish a customer base, but I was hoping it would be a bit faster than this. But we’re playing a long game here so we’re still full of plenty of hope.”

“You own this?” Ben asked, somewhat surprised. He had assumed that she was just working there.

“Finn, Rose, and I opened it up together about a year and a half ago,” Rey said, and Ben wondered how he’d missed the fact that the store existed for that long. “Ẅe’re really proud of it.”

“You should be. This is my favorite bookstore now,” Ben said, taking the bag from her. 

“I’m really enjoying you coming in, Ben.”

“I will be back soon then.”

Ben left the store and was two blocks down the street before he decided that he had no choice. He needed to just suck it up and ask Rey out already.

.5

When Ben walked into the bookstore, he had a plan. There was a deli on the corner across the street, it was a little after noon, and so asking Rey if she would like to go get a sandwich with him would not be something that would be completely unnatural. He wanted this to be as natural as it could be. He was probably going to make a fool of himself but he had to at least try. 

For some reason, this meant more than anything had in a very long time.

Rey meant more than anyone had in a very long time. 

He took a moment to walk through the shelves when he heard Rey talking with someone, and he maneuvered himself so that he had a view of the register when he realized that Rey was behind it. He could hear Finn and Rose elsewhere in the store, which was good because it meant that there would be someone there to run the place while they went across the street to the deli when Rey said yes to lunch.

Because she had to say yes to lunch. Ben didn’t even want to think about what he’d feel like if she didn’t.

There was a woman at the register when Ben’s eyes laid upon Rey, and after a moment the woman walked away and Rey stepped to the right of the register and…

...and picked up half of a sandwich and took a bite.

Well, fuck.

He turned around before she could spot him, made his way to the Sci-Fi section, and had a copy of _Dune_ in his hands before he could think about it. He had always meant to read the Frank Herbert classic, and he might as well start now.

Rey looked up from her sandwich as Ben approached the register, and she smiled at him. “Hey, you. I didn’t know you were in here.”

“I had a lunch date fall through, and so I decided to come to buy a book instead of a sandwich,” Ben said without thinking, barely keeping himself from cringing when he realized what he’d said.

Well, it wasn’t entirely the truth but it wasn’t entirely a lie. So long as Rey didn’t question it, he thought things would be fine. The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass himself any more than he already was.

“A lunch date,” Rey said slowly before shaking her head slightly. “I’m sorry to hear that. If she did that, she probably wasn’t worth it.”

Ben sucked in a deep breath. “You’re probably right,” he murmured sadly. 

“So how many times have you read _Dune_?” Rey asked as she picked the book up off the counter to ring it up. “It’s my absolute favorite book of all time.”

Ben coughed slightly. “I, um, I’ve never read it. Might as well start now, right?”

Rey stared at him like he was crazy. “You’ve never read _Dune_? Are you kidding me?”

“Unfortunately not,” Ben said, trying to smile and knowing that he failed. “But I have no more excuses as to why I’m putting it off.”

“Well, you will have to tell me what you think of it,” Rey said, ringing it up. “It really is the most amazing book I’ve ever read. The worlds that Herbert created are simply incredible.”

Ben listened to Rey go on about it while they finished the transaction and she bagged up the book. He took the bag from her and gave her a weak smile. “Thank you, Rey. For everything.”

“Of course, Ben. I’ll see you next time you come in, okay?”

Ben nodded and walked away without saying anything, knowing full well that he probably was never going to come into the bookstore again simply to avoid what he was feeling at that exact moment because he felt like absolute shit.

This was why Ben didn’t do the whole dating thing.

He walked across the street and purchased a sandwich from the deli, tried not to think about the fact that there was a table on the patio outside where they could be sitting together, and headed back towards the office. He’d sit at his desk and eat his sandwich, listen to Poe gush over how he was planning on taking Zorii to Paris for her birthday in August, and then he’d pick up the contract he was working on and get back at it. 

He was not going to think about Rey ever again.

+1

After four months of Ben coming into the store every week, sometimes multiple times that week, Rey was confused when he suddenly stopped showing up. At first, she thought that he must be sick or something, but when one week stretched into two and then three, Rey began to become alarmed that something had happened to him. Eventually, after six weeks, she finally listened to Finn and Rose when they told her that perhaps he’d moved and it was too far out of his way to come to the bookstore as he did before. 

But now it had been nearly three months and she was still thinking about him. She just missed him. She missed him so much.

Rey wasn’t entirely sure what had happened to have her start looking forward to Ben’s visits to the store. Maybe it was the way that he was always smiling at her when they talked, or the way that he seemed interested in what she had to say whether it was about books or not, or the way that she couldn’t believe a guy as gorgeous as he was seemed to have any desire to speak to her whatsoever. But Ben was more than just smiles, and he was more than just interested in what she had to say, and he was more than just a gorgeous guy.

Ben was perfect.

Realistically, Rey knew that wasn’t the truth. No one was perfect. But when it came to that idea Rey had of the kind of guy she’d want to spend the rest of her life with, Ben was kinda perfect. Sure, he seemed to be quite a bit older than her but she didn’t care about that, and yeah, she could tell by the expensive-looking suits that he often wore that he probably had a lot more money than she had, but they could work through that easily enough, she thought. So long as Ben didn’t mind their age difference and Rey made it clear that she’d never spend a dime of his money, things should be fine.

Ugh, why was she even thinking about this? Ben was gone and he wasn’t coming back, and something might have happened to cause that situation, and Rey had no idea what it was. The last day that she’d seen Ben, he’d been sad over a broken lunch date. Whatever it was, it had nothing to do with her, so dwelling on it was only going to make things worse.

She broke herself of her thoughts and glanced up at the clock, shaking her head when she realized it was five after eight and she hadn’t closed the store yet. She flipped the main lights off and walked towards the front, turning the closed sign on and situating it in the window so it could be seen properly. She locked the door and turned to head back to the counter so she could close out the register and get home, and she was three steps into her walk when she heard a knock on the door behind her. Sighing because people really needed to understand that closed meant closed, she turned around and looked towards the door, shock filling her when she saw Ben standing there. 

“Rey,” he said, loud enough to be heard through the door. “May I please come in?”

“We’re closed,” Rey said sharply, and she wasn’t entirely sure why but she was suddenly so angry with him. “If you want to buy a book, you’ll need to come back during actual business hours.”

“I’m not here to buy a book,” Ben said, his voice calm. “I’m here to explain why I haven’t come back.”

“I’m not sure I want to hear it,” Rey shot back. “Favorite bookstore. In here every week. Then you disappear for almost three months. How do you think that made me feel?”

“I know, I know, but I would really like a chance to explain to you why I didn’t come back,” Ben said, glancing behind him when lightning flashed through the sky. “I’ll stand out here all night and get soaked to the skin if that’s what it takes.”

It was only then that Rey noticed that it was pouring rain, and she wondered how she’d gotten quite so out of it that evening. She stood there for a moment before sighing heavily and walking back to the door, unlocking it before walking away. Ben was just going to have to come to find her. She wasn’t going to wait for him.

Ben opened the door and ducked inside, blinking the water from his eyes and running his hands through his wet hair. He glanced around the room and didn’t see or hear Rey anywhere, so he took a deep breath, swallowed hard, and went in search of her.

He was such a fucking fool. 

It had taken Poe three hours to deduce that there was a girl, four days to learn that her name was Rey and she worked in a bookstore, and then another two weeks to get it out of Ben that they’d never even been on a date. Poe forced the entire story out of Ben at that point, and when he found out that Ben was acting like his grandfather had died because the girl he was about to ask to go with him to get a sandwich at a deli already had a sandwich, Poe decided that Ben was the stupidest man that had ever walked the face of the Earth. 

Maybe he was the stupidest man that had ever walked the face of the Earth. That was really the only explanation for his sandwich-caused idiocy. Fuck, he’d never even gotten to the asking out part. He’d just seen a sandwich and decided the world was over. 

Poe had been insistent then that Ben had better go get this girl he was so hung up about, but Ben needed more time than that to cope with his horrible decision. So he’d waited, and waited, and waited, but he just couldn’t wait any longer. He’d run through a rainstorm to get to the bookstore before eight, laughed when he saw that the closed sign was already up, and decided that it had to be fate that he came back to the store almost exactly the same way he’d come there the first time. 

Ben wandered through the shelves, noting that the entire store seemed to be reorganized, before ending up at the register. Rey was counting the money that was inside it, and he could tell that complete concentration was needed so he didn’t say a word. Eventually, Rey took the stacks of money and placed them in an envelope to take to the bank, zipped it shut, and then tossed it onto the counter and glared at Ben. 

She really had no idea that she’d been this angry about him disappearing until now. Maybe that was why he plagued her thoughts even when he was gone. It wasn’t an attraction at all. Just anger. 

She knew she was wrong, but it felt better to think that at the moment.

“I’m an idiot,” Ben started when Rey didn’t say anything. “Poe called me the stupidest man that has ever walked the face of the Earth and you know what, he’s right. Look, I haven’t come back in here because of a sandwich.”

Rey’s glare deepened. “A sandwich? Do you think I’m fucking stupid?”

“No, not at all,” Ben said seriously. “I’m the one that’s fucking stupid. Look, I am abysmal at the dating thing. Just the absolute worst at it. I avoid doing it at all costs unless there is someone special. And then suddenly there was someone special, and that someone special was you. So I came up with this plan to come in here around noon and ask you if you wanted to go across the street to get a sandwich at the deli. It took me literally weeks to come up with that plan, Rey. And then I got here and you already had a sandwich, and my brain quit functioning. I didn’t know what to do because I don’t fucking do this. I just shut down. I kept thinking that you weren’t interested because you already had a sandwich when you didn’t even know that I had plans to ask you to get one with me.”

“Your broken lunch date that day,” Rey interrupted. “That was you thinking that I had somehow broken a lunch date that you hadn’t even asked me on because I already had a sandwich.”

“I told you, my brain quit functioning,” Ben said honestly. “I meant it when I said I am abysmal at this. Like, I can’t even stress how much. My grandmother reads me those passages from romance novels because she really would like a granddaughter-in-law before she dies and she wants to teach me how to do this properly, and she thinks that those passages will do the trick. But I don’t know how to do this properly. I don’t know how to do this at all. Every attempt that I make ends up so horribly that I just refuse to try again. I was dead set on being alone for the rest of my life until I met you and slowly realized that I would regret it more than anything if I didn’t at least try. You might not be interested, but I had to at least try. And then I didn’t even get as far as asking if you’d want to have lunch with me because you already had a sandwich.”

Rey let out a small laugh. “I’m not going to lie. This is the most pathetic excuse I’ve ever heard.”

Ben allowed himself to smile. “I’m hopeless. What more can I say?”

Rey watched him for a moment, saw the sincerity in his eyes, and sighed. “I don’t tolerate stupidity like this. Just ask Finn and Rose. I don’t put up with bullshit.”

Ben swallowed hard. “I see.”

“But there is something so goddamn charming about the fact that you ran away because of a sandwich that I can’t help myself.”

“Charming?” Ben asked, somewhat confused. 

“Ask me out, Ben,” Rey said, laughing again. “Just ask.”

Ben blinked a few times before clearing his throat. “Rey, would you be interested in having dinner with me tonight?”

Rey grinned at him. “Yes, I would.”

Ben breathed a long sigh of relief. “I’m so sorry. I really am. And I’m incredibly sorry for when I inevitably fuck this up and hurt you because that’s all I seem capable of doing in relationships.”

Rey walked around the counter and reached up, brushing a wet lock of hair behind Ben’s ear. “Then we’ll just have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“I can’t promise you that.”

“That’s okay,” Rey murmured. “That’s part of the risk. And I want to take the risk.”

Ben nodded after a moment. “What kind of food do you want?”

“Italian,” Rey said, walking away. “I’ll go finish closing things up while you think of where we should go.”

Ben watched her go into the back of the store before fishing his phone from his pocket. He’d pulled up the number for Parnassos before he could think about it, praying that they’d be able to make a reservation that late in the day. Thankfully, Phasma was the one who answered the phone, Ben told her that he was bringing a date and it was important, and she said she’d take care of the rest. Ben was relieved and had never been happier that his friend had opened up that restaurant.

A few minutes later, Rey came out of the back with an umbrella, and then they were walking out of the bookstore together. She quickly locked the door, opened up the umbrella, and then Ben pointed in the direction of the train station. As they walked, Rey decided that she just had to know the answer to the one question she’d never asked Ben because it didn’t seem appropriate since he was just a customer. “Hey, Ben?”

“Yes?”

“What is it that you do?”

Ben laughed. “Have I never told you that?”

“No,” Rey said, smiling at him. “And I didn’t think it right to ask.”

“It would have been fine, Rey. I would have answered without a problem,” Ben said, glancing over his shoulder when there was a loud clap of thunder. “I’m a lawyer. I specialize in contract law, and I work with Poe. He’s a manager, so basically he gets the actors for clients and helps them with finding work and all of that, and I come in to do the contracts whenever there is a need for one. And there’s a need for one more than you would think.”

“That’s fascinating. I thought maybe you worked on Wall Street. I could just tell that you made a lot of money.” Rey reached up and slapped a hand over her mouth. “Fuck, I didn’t mean to say that.”

“It’s okay, Rey,” Ben said, looking over at her. “Given my tastes for the tailoring of my suits, I would have been surprised if you couldn’t tell that I made quite a bit of money.”

“Well, they do seem to be very expensive-looking suits,” Rey said. 

“Blame my grandfather for that. I’m the only heir of my generation so he says I have to look the part of a Skywalker at all times.”

“A Skywalker,” Rey said slowly as that hit her. “Your mother is Leia Skywalker.”

Ben gave her a confused look. “You already knew that.”

“Yeah, but I hadn’t processed the Skywalker part of it yet,” Rey said honestly. “Holy fuck, your family is worth a lot of money.”

“Yeah, we are,” Ben agreed. “But money doesn’t make you any less of a human being. It might corrupt the fuck out of some people, but my family has worked very hard to stay as grounded as possible.”

“Well, I promise not to spend a dime of your money,” Rey said before she could stop herself. “Fuck, I didn’t mean to say that. I’m sounding like a fucking moron right now”

Ben laughed. “We’ve already established that I’m the fucking stupid one, okay? You’re fine.”

“Well, yeah, I guess what I’m saying pales in stupidity comparison to disappearing for three months over a sandwich.”

“Yes, it definitely does.”

“Hey, Ben?”

“What?”

“Wanna get a sandwich with me tomorrow for lunch?”

Ben grinned. “I would really like that.”

And just like that, Ben knew he was lost.


End file.
